Upon the request of the APRM Continental Secretariat, an expert group meeting is being organized to validate the APRM Study on Major Bottlenecks Facing Africa, in Kigali, Rwanda from 14 to 15 September 2017. The expert group meeting is jointly organized by the APRM Continental Secretariat and the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

This product is an instruction to the APRM Continental Secretariat, by the APR Forum of Heads of State and Government during the August 2016 Summit, to conduct a study on the Major Bottlenecks Holding Africa’s Progress, a project that was initiated following a presentation to the Forum by H. E. Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda.

The  study covers thirteen major bottlenecks namely (i) Ideological disorientation; (ii) Interference with the private sector; (iii) Under-developed infrastructure; (iv) Weak states, especially weak institutions such as the Army, Police, etc.; (v) Fragmented markets, market access and expansion; (vi) Lack of industrialization and low value addition; (vii) Under-development of human resources; (viii) Under-development of agriculture; (ix) Under-development of the services sector; (x) Attacks on democracy and governance; (xi) A Non-responsive civil service. (xii) Lack of Domestic Resource Mobilization, with a focus on the Fiscal Revenue generated from the Continent’s Natural Resources; and (xiii) Structural inequalities in access to opportunities.

The objective of this expert group meeting is to consider the final draft of that report objectively and rigorously, propose ways of improving it further and agree on the best way forward so as to make sure the findings of the study benefit the work of the APRM in the immediate future.

The expert group meeting  will bring together leading experts and representatives of relevant institutions (Independent experts, APR Panel, APR Committee of Focal Points,  ECA, PRM Continental Secretariat, AUC and NEPAD) )in the field of governance and one or more of the 13 major bottlenecks covered in the study who will consider the draft report in terms of approach, structure, content and recommendations on the way forward and advise the APRM Secretariat on how best to improve the quality of the document and enhance the practicability of its recommendations and action points.